This morning I brought out another discontinued CK-6 shaving soap, Love Bombs, which has a pleasant fragrance:
Dark Chocolate, Rose, Rosewood, Bergamot, Tea, Orange, Lemon, Black Pepper, Ginger, Palo Santo, Vetiver, Cedar, Tobacco, and Rose Absolute
The lather was rich and generous, thanks in part to my ginormous H.L. Thäter brush. As I recall, this is a 32mm knot — 1 cm more than my target knot diameter of 22mm — but it is still quite usable (once I got accustomed to the size of the handle) because of the knot’s dome shape. I think a fan-shaped 32mm knot would be a bit much, but the dome shape allows for more precise placement and control.
The razor today uses the same idea as yesterday’s Yaqi Flipside: bar guard on one side, comb guard on the other. However, this razor — the iKon Shavecraft #101 — is noticeably more comfortable than the Yaqi Flipside and at least as efficient if not more. The #101 is a wonderful little razor but seems currently out of stock everywhere.
Two passes, then the third-pass trick: squeezing the lather from the brush knot, applying it by hand to my face, cleaning the brush, then picking up the razor and finishing the job.
The result is a perfectly smooth face. I applied a splash of Love Boombs aftershave & cologne, augmented with a couple of squirts of Grooming Dept’s Aion Hydrating Gel, and I’m ready for the day.
The coffee this morning is again Fantastico’s Espresso Malinal.